Molleindustriaa
"Phone Story" - banned from the App Store -- tells the not-so-happy stories associated with smartphone production. The above portion of the game takes a look at the many suicides committed by workers who manufacture our phones. a
By Winda Benedetti
It seems there's a smartphone game about smartphone manufacturing that one of the most famous smartphone makers doesn't want you to play.a
The game app — called "Phone Story" — was available in Apple's App Store for a few days before Apple yanked it from its virtual shelves on Tuesday.a
Created by indie developers Molleindustria, "Phone Story" is a collection of four mini games designed to show the horrible human and environmental costs of smartphone manufacturing and sales.a
As Molleindustria explains:a
Phone Story is a game for smartphone devices that attempts to provoke a critical reflection on its own technological platform. Under the shiny surface of our electronic gadgets, behind its polished interface, hides the product of a troubling supply chain that stretches across the globe.a
The games give players a look at coltan mineral mining in the Congo (a mineral vital to phone production), at the horrible manufacturing conditions at Foxconn, the suicides that plague the phone production process and at the planned obsolescence of our gadgets before ending on a not-so-cheery look at the gadget-induced eWaste polluting our planet.a
This isn't the first time Molleindustria has created a game designed to make players ask themselves some uncomfortable questions. This group previously released a Web game called "Operation: Pedopriest" about the Catholic Church's cover-up of sexual abuses committed by priests. It also released "Faith Fighter" — a fighting game that takes a satirical look at the religious wars — and "Leaky World" — a game based around the ongoing WikiLeaks controversy.a
Molleindustriaa
"Phone Story" takes a look at the toxic waste our devices leave behind.a
Though Apple initially approved "Phone Story" and posted it to the App Store on Sept. 9, the company yanked the game Tuesday. On its website, Molleindustria said Apple told them the game violates the following guideline codes:a
15.2 Apps that depict violence or abuse of children will be rejected 16.1 Apps that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be rejected 21.1 Apps that include the ability to make donations to recognized charitable organizations must be free 21.2 The collection of donations must be done via a web site in Safari or an SMSa
Apple slapped Molleindustria with the last two violations because the developers have vowed to redirect all the money they make on the game to non-profit organizations working to stop the events depicted in the game (the first group being SACOM - Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior).a
But the developers insist, "We contest the violation 21.1 and 21.2 since it's not possible to make donations through Phone Story. Molleindustria simply pledged to redirect the revenues to no-profit organizations, acting independently."a
And Molleindustria hasn't given up trying to get the game reinstated to the App Store. The developers say they are considering producing a new version of the game "that depicts the violence and abuse of children involved in the electronic manufacturing supply chain in a non-crude and non-objectionable way."a
Though, how one goes about making the abuse of child laborers not objectionable remains to be seen. After all, the objectionable nature of such a thing is very much the point.a
Meanwhile Molleindustria has just released a version of the game to the Android Market for $1. (It should be noted that Android phones are no less a part of the problem than iPhones. The Android Market, however, is far less strict in its app approval process.)a
The game's developers urge those who buy and play their game to "keep Phone Story on your device as a reminder of your impact."a
(Thanks to Kotaku for the heads up.)a
For more game news, check out:a
These games really push our buttons Wikileaks game asks you to connect dots and stop leaks Grizzled, troubled Max Payne returns in new game, new trailer Will you pay $50 for Call of Duty Elite?
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+. And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.a
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